Money Buzz! Europa

Tag: budapest

  • The brand new Etele Plaza mall opened for public in Budapest

    The brand new Etele Plaza mall opened for public in Budapest

    Budapest’s latest shopping and entertainment centre Etele Plaza will offer an outstanding range of stores and services.

    The EUR 300 million development is also the first smart plaza in Hungary and has a rentable area of 55,000 sq m and over 1.300 places in the car parks.

    Etele Plaza is built at the meeting point of Kelenföld railway station, metro line 4 and the approach section of M1-M7 motorways.

    The immediate catchment area of the new centre is one of the most densely populated areas of Budapest, where some 235.000 people live.

    Residents of this district represent 125% of the nation’s average purchasing power with a relatively low retail supply.

    In Etele Plaza, Peek & Cloppenburg opened its first store on the Buda side in the shopping centre and Spanish Inditex group is present with all their brands available in Hungary.

    American clothing company, GAP opens its first store in the country here, and the largest Müller can also be found in the shopping centre.

    The most spacious food court in Hungary

    The food court in Etele Plaza covers almost the entire third floor of the building, allowing over 1.000 people to dine at any one time.

    The interior dining area will seat 950, while another 150 seats will be installed on the roof terrace.

    Families will have a dining area designed just for them, where tables and chairs sized for children will be placed next to a playing mat, a TV set and interactive toys.

  • Etele Plaza Budapest has received the occupancy permit

    Etele Plaza Budapest has received the occupancy permit

    The EUR 300 million Etele Plaza developed by Futureal has received the occupancy permit. Therefore, the tenants can now start setting up their stores in Buda’s largest shopping centre.

    The environment friendly complex with a rentable area of 55,000 sq m will open this September.

    Spanish Inditex Group decided to be present in Etele Plaza with all of its brands available in the country, including Zara fashion store featuring a brand-new design concept.

    Also, Peek & Cloppenburg’s first store on the Buda side of the capital will present itself with a new floor space concept in the complex.

    The exterior design of the shopping mall will be dominated by the largest curtain wall structure in Hungary above the main entrance and retracted metal boxes that jump out from the facades.

    Etele Plaza will feature 180 shops, a supermarket, restaurants, cafés, a multiplex cinema, a gym, a children’s play centre and a range of other services with nearly 1,300 parking lots.

    The most advanced location and navigation system will facilitate parking in the building by indicating empty spaces.

  • Thyssenkrupp to invest 6.2 million euros in Veszprem, Hungary

    Thyssenkrupp to invest 6.2 million euros in Veszprem, Hungary

    Thyssenkrupp AG will set up an engineering development hub with an investment of 2.2 billion forints (6.2 million euros) in the western Hungarian city of Veszprem, MTI reports.

    The Budapest government supports the investment with a grant of 770 million forints.

    Hungary ”has never had such a successful year” in terms of investment, given that the government provided last year assistance to 1,433 investment projects, the combined value of which amounts to 1.676 billion forints (4.6 billion). euro), Peter Szijjarto, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, says.

    He added that the Government awarded a total of 472 billion forints in 2020 and 80% of the SMEs that have committed to investment projects are Hungarian businesses.

    Following the implementation of Government-supported projects, 12,603 ​​new jobs were created in 2020 and 264,595 jobs were retained.

  • Daimler is investing 141 million euros in Hungary to make an electric model

    Daimler is investing 141 million euros in Hungary to make an electric model

    Daimler AG will start production of the EQB compact electric SUV in Hungary in Q4 2021, after an investment of 50 billion forints (141 million euros), MTI and Reuters reports.

    The Hungarian government is backing investment in the Kecskemet plant in central Hungary, which ”will cement the future of more than 4,400 jobs” with a grant of 15 billion forints, said Hungarian Foreign Minister, Peter Szijjarto.

    The EQB SUV will be the first all-electric model made in Hungary, whose economy is dependent on the car industry, with German luxury brands Mercedes, BMW and Audi building or expanding factories in the country.

    This year, BMW postponed the construction of its plant near Debrecen by several months, due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19). BMV also plans to produce fully electric vehicles in Hungary.

  • SPAR has acquired the Hungarian meat company Zimbo Perbál

    SPAR has acquired the Hungarian meat company Zimbo Perbál

    SPAR has acquired the Hungarian meat company Zimbo Perbál. The retailer plans to fully modernise the newly acquired meat plant in Perbál, on the outskirts of the capital city of Budapest.

    Constructed in 1998, the meat plant will be renamed Regnum meat plant Perbál. The current 200 Zimbo Perbál staff members will continue their employment at the plant.

    Meat and meat products manufactured in the Regnum meat plant Perbál will be available in SPAR stores nationwide. SPAR will synchronise production processes at the new plant in Perbál with those at SPAR’s meat plant in Bicske.

    The company also plans to integrate innovative technologies in the Perbál plant, including modernised cooling technologies. In the next two years, the company will seek to upgrade the plant to ISO 22 000 standards.

    ”The plant in Perbál became operational under the SPAR Brand on 2 November. The number of employees in SPAR’s meat production division will be increased by 200 to a total of 600. In the last year, we produced 40,000 tonnes of meat products. Through this acquisition, we will expand our capacity significantly from 2021 onwards”, says Ferenc Horváth, Managing Director of SPAR Hungary’s meat plant.

  • Huawei will set up a research and development center in Budapest

    Huawei will set up a research and development center in Budapest

    Chinese giant Huawei will set up a research and development (R&D) center in Budapest, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced on Tuesday, the Budapest Business Journal reported.

    The investment, which will create new jobs for at least 100 Hungarian engineers, is Huawei’s third in Hungary, Szijjártó said.

    He added that the new R&D center will focus on artificial intelligence, streaming services, image processing, cutting-edge technologies, mass distribution systems.

    Cai Lingyu, head of Huawei Technologies’ subsidiary in Hungary, said the company had invested $ 1.5 billion in the country since 2005 and now has almost 2.400 employees.

    Last year, the Hungarian subsidiary Huawei Technologies recorded revenues of 77 billion forints.

    Is not the first Chinese investment in Hungary, personal computer maker Lenovo will also build its first European plant in Hungary, as Money Buzz! Europa reported.

  • Chervon Auto to invest 48 million euros in a factory in Hungary

    Chervon Auto to invest 48 million euros in a factory in Hungary

    Chinese company Chervon Auto will make a major investment in Hungary, of 17.5 billion forints (48 million euros), Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced on Monday, as APA and MTI report.

    The plant in Miskolc, in northeastern Hungary, will initially employ 138 people and deliver two million automotive components annually, for combustion engines and electric vehicles.

    The Hungarian government will support the investment with a subsidy of 5.3 billion forints, Szijjarto said. He added that Chinese investment indicates that Hungary continues to be an attractive investment destination.

    Last year, Hungary produced 550.000 cars and over two million engines, 90% of which were made for export.

  • MOL has completed a new bitumen-rubber plant in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary

    MOL has completed a new bitumen-rubber plant in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary

    MOL completed its new bitumen-rubber plant in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary, after a $ 10 million investment.

    The plant, built in one year, has an annual production capacity of 20.000 tons of rubber bitumen.

    In addition to recycling 8-10% of household tire waste in Hungary, the new plant will contribute to the efficient operation of the Zala platform and the preservation of over 100 jobs.

    The new plant can deliver about 96 tons of bitumen-rubber per day, which translates annually into 20.000 tons of raw material for road construction, enough to build 200 kilometers of two-lane road or rebuild the top layer of 600 kilometers of two-lane road.

    Of the approximately $ 10 million investment, 75% was provided by MOL from its own resources and 25% was funded by a state aid programme.

  • OTP is suing Croatia for the forced conversion of Swiss francs loans

    OTP is suing Croatia for the forced conversion of Swiss francs loans

    OTP Bank announced on Monday that it has sued the Croatian government to recover losses of about 224 million kuna ($ 34.60 million).

    The bank recorded this losses after the introduction of a law that denominated Swiss francs loans in euro loans in 2015, Reuters reports.

    OTP is one of the largest banks in Croatia and the largest independent banking group in Central Europe.

    According to the Hungarian banking group, Croatia has violated the Investment Protection Treaty between Hungary and Croatia and has decided to initiate arbitration proceedings at the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) at the World Bank.

    About 55.000 Croats have loans denominated in Swiss francs worth about 25 billion kuna ($ 3.73 billion). Most of these loans were contracted in the 2000s, when many people in Central and Eastern Europe were attracted to low interest rates on franc loans.

    In the meantime, however, the significant appreciation of the franc has led to rising costs of repaying loans in francs, and governments in the region have begun to look for solutions to the problem.

    In September 2015, the Croatian Parliament approved a law which allows the conversion of loans denominated in Swiss francs into euros, ignoring threats from banks, which warned that they would challenge the law at ICSID.

    The law allowed the conversion into euros of loans worth $ 3.4 billion to help citizens cope with repayment. The costs of the conversion were to be borne by the banks.

  • Families in Hungary will receive up to 10.000 USD to renovate their home

    Families in Hungary will receive up to 10.000 USD to renovate their home

    The Hungarian government will give up to three million forints ($ 9.693) to each family as help to renovate the house, in order to stimulate the recovery of the economy after the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reports.

    ”Families with at least one child will be able to recover half the cost of renovations, up to three million forints,” said Family Minister Katalin Novak.

    The aid provided by the state will cover the cost of works to improve the house energy efficiency, to renovate the bathroom or kitchen, and expand the home.

    The announcement comes a week after Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced that Hungary would apply a reduced VAT rate of 5% to housing construction projects by the end of 2022.

  • EIB invests €120 million in south-eastern Hungary

    EIB invests €120 million in south-eastern Hungary

    The European Investment Bank (EIB) and MVM Hungarian Electricity Ltd. (MVM) have signed a €120 million loan to modernise and expand the electricity supply network in south-eastern Hungary.

    MVM has more than 785.000 customers in Bacs-Kiskun, Bekes, Csongrad-Csanad and Pest counties.

    The project programme covered by the financing consists of the reinforcement of the electric supply network, refurbishment of high, medium and low-voltage substations, overhead lines and underground cables, and the installation of 600 distribution transformers and 210.000 advanced meters.

    Special measures to protect local birds species, developed in cooperation with the Hungarian Ornithological Society, will also be implemented under the investment including the replacement of above-ground power lines with underground alternatives, and the installation of special equipment for bird protection.

  • Lenovo to build its first European plant in Ullo, Hungary

    Lenovo to build its first European plant in Ullo, Hungary

    Chinese personal computer maker Lenovo will build its first European plant in Hungary, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told MTI.

    The 8.2 billion forints (22.8 million euros) production facility will be built in Ullo, on the outskirts of the capital Budapest, and the Hungarian government will contribute a grant of two billion forints.

    Peter Szijjarto pointed out that this investment will create about 1.000 new jobs and introduce state-of-the-art technologies in Hungary.

    Production at the new computer plant will begin in early 2021.